Scams Abound

There is something annoying me recently

Actually, to say it's actively annoying me is not really true. In fact, I only decided to start this wee rant having been triggered by a McDonald's ad and that started the landslide, as it were. But I have been taking mental note of a few things, a few modern scams that almost everyone falls into at sometime or another. I really try turn a blind eye to this stuff generally, as our society is one built up on one scam after another, but sometimes I just can't help myself... that's only when I, or some people close to me are directly affected by them.

So here are a few recent scams and oversights that just keep getting my attention.

McDonald's urinals save over 100,000 litres of water per year!

OK, this is just false. McDonald's urinals do not save over 100,000 litres of water per year, they just do not use over 100,000 litres of water per year! It's not like these particular urinals ever used 100,000 litres of water and then stopped. They have no use for water. They don't need it. They could say "We use urinals that don't have to use over 100,000 litres of water per year instead of ones that do" But these urinals do not save water. It's not like they have a switch to decide whether you prefer them to flush or not. The trick is in the phrasing. Now why doesn't everywhere else use them? Who knows. But McDonald's urinals do not save water. It's like when say, Kellogg's reduce the price of Cruncy Nut Cornflakes from 3.20 to 3.00 permanently and then say "You save 20c on Crunchy Nut Cornflakes!" Truth is, they cannot continue to charge 3.20 any more because no-one is buying 'em, so they reduce the price and remind you that they are cheaper now. You save nothing except their asses from losing their job. So McDonald's use waterless urinals because the government won't let them waste any more water. It's that simple. And what of urinals that use water? It all ends up in the same place anyway and gets treated and reused. You probably, at some stage, drank Oliver Cromwell's piss at some point. I think it just ends up costing you more money. That is when the government charge you for what they should already be paying for out of the tax you pay. Which leads me onto Garbage.

Recycling in Ireland

Why are we the only country that pays the government to recycle for us? And why do we go through the trouble of separating waste when we pay them to do it for us? In Germany, for example, they charge an extra 10c on a bottle of Cola so that when you finish you get to claim that money back on recycling. At festivals, if there are cans and bottles left lying about, kids will actually clean them up to make a few quid for themselves. They have people cleaning up after themselves because they stand to make money from it. The U.S is the same with even the homeless collecting old cans and bottles to make a few extra bucks. Why don't we have it here? It would inspire people to keep the streets and the environment clean. But no. Instead we have to pay to do our own recycling which if we choose not to, will not be collected! What a bunch of morons we are for letting them get away with this.. If we are paying for our recycling, they should be sorting it themselves. Wake the f*ck up. I'm all for recycling, but not all for being ripped off and played like a fool.

iPhone

This is ridiculous. You've probably heard me go on about these before but I haven't even scratched the surface. Apple marketing are genius. They have everyone going on about how great the iPhone is for them. Steve Jobs doesn't need to do his job. Truth is, iPhones aren't all that good. Let's take away the normal things phones are supposed to do... calls and texts. Now what have you got... An MP3 player, a camera and a portable web-browser. Great. So I lose my phone and my camera and MP3 player all in one when I leave it behind somewhere. Plus my cookies are probably saved on it too, so I lose my privacy and probably my bank details too. All that aside, the iPhone is probably a good web browser. fair enough. But after my few basic songs, messages and photos are saved, what storage do I have left? Apple iPhones haven't even got expandable memory... you have to upgrade to get that. Now this is Apple marketing genius right here. You get f*ck-all extras with your first iPhone and it cannot be upgraded unless you get a new one. Great. Cheap is it? No! Not if you've scratched or damaged it slightly. Or God* forbid you hacked it to get better deals on your calls! No replacement for you pal. Full price all the way.
Now, Apple boasts that you can have 100,000 applications at your fingertips with the iPhone (What's with this number?) "You will revolutionise the way you use the internet and application on the go" (or some bullsh*t like that. I'm paraphrasing as always) Tell me this, when before this iPhone did I ever need those applications before this? I didn't. And you didn't. Admit it, you just have a low threshold for normality and get bored easily. It's just as bad as the iFad (iPad) and how I could go on about that. Speaking of things you don't need...

L-Casei Imunitass

Look it's as simple as this. Thousands of years of evolution and we never needed it. Why do we need it now all of a sudden? Is it some kind of insurance that we'll live longer? Hardly. What's so good about living "longer" anyway (Longer than who.. yourself? A paradox methinks...) until you are old and pissing yourself and burdening your kids? Ugh. And bifidus digestivum? Perhaps when Apple's marketing team starts failing they can hire the L-Casei people. That is genius. Or maybe they can just change their whole marketing campaign to Latin. Useful for selling you shit you don't need. And while I'm at it...

Insurance:

Genius scam of the last couple of hundred years I think. Speculation payments. Fear payments. Risk payments. Gambling is the exact same. Insurance pays the benefactors, Gambling the beneficiaries... to some extent. Both carry risks you may or may not benefit from, depending on the actions of others. Insurance pays out IF you have an accident and Gambling pays out IF you are "Lucky" (See rant on Chances and Luck). Both are a shambles. You should be more careful who you throw your money at I think. Promises depending on how careless you are... shouldn't you just be more careful with your money?




*Yeah, yeah, yeah